The Harvard B-school program to reform America for higher profits

Summary: Things go poorly for America’s economy, with decades of slowing growth and rising inequality. The insurgencies on the Left and Right in Campaign 2016 show increasing public agitation as people understand what’s happening. Now our business leaders have a solution: yet more policies to boost corporate profits. Their timing is excellent. Both Clinton and Trump are likely to take their advice. Read about it (it might motivate you to start preparing for Campaign 2020).

Decades of bipartisan rule for business interests have produce an America of extraordinary inequality, a dying middle class, and near-record profits. So our business leaders want to double down, getting even more! Profits can rise even more. Inequality can set new records! Why shouldn’t the 1% cream off all of America’s rising income? See this excerpt, the money paragraphs (literally so for US businesses).

“The U.S. lacks an economic strategy, especially at the federal level. …In 2012, we put forward an Eight-Point Plan of federal policy priorities that would unlock U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. The Eight-Point Plan consists of the following policy recommendations: simplify the corporate tax code with lower statutory rates and no loopholes; move to a territorial tax system like all other leading nations; ease the immigration of highly-skilled individuals; aggressively address distortions and abuses in the international trading system; improve logistics, communications, and energy infrastructure; simplify and streamline regulation; create a sustainable federal budget, including reform to entitlements; and responsibly develop America’s unconventional energy advantage.

“Each of these areas represents compelling U.S. weaknesses, primarily controlled by the federal government, that can have the most significant and near-term impact on the U.S. economy.”

This wildly pro-business program is slid into reams of text about inequality, US politics, and a dozen other subjects. Of course, there is little evidence that further feeding business profits will increase US growth, or that these issues are relevant to the economic stagnation afflicting most of the developed nations.

As further support, Harvard Business School alumni are polled to scientifically determine how American can best boost the fortunes of this elite class.

My favorite sentence in the report: “Finally, Chapter 7 identifies the U.S. political system as now the single biggest barrier to competitiveness, blocking progress on the steps needed to restore shared prosperity.” It’s a wonderful con; we have to obey our betters say in order to get “shared prosperity.” Failure of our political system to produce obedience is our biggest problem, in the eyes of our business elites.

Conclusions

We should admire the boldness of this group. Sadly for them, Campaign 2016 suggests that they have pushed too hard for too long, and Americans have begun to rebel. The Sanders insurgence of the Left failed to stop the Clinton juggernaut, but shows that progressivism has risen again. The Trump insurgency on the Right, despite its horrifically flawed candidate, shows that long-suppressed American populism has risen again — a force even more difficult to stop.

How our elites react will to these movements will be more important than their list of wants, as documented by Harvard Business School professors. Interesting times lie ahead.